


Looking Up

by ruination_fangs



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: F/F, Stargazing, Tales of Secret Santa 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-10-29 22:51:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17817038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruination_fangs/pseuds/ruination_fangs
Summary: Estelle drags Rita out to look at the stars, and it's... maybe not as bad as Rita expected.





	Looking Up

**Author's Note:**

> Secret Santa gift for tumblr user iciclequeentrishna!

The second night of Rita’s visit to the castle is as clear as clear can possibly be, and Estelle will not rest until Rita agrees to go outside with her and look at the stars.

Rita, of course, demurs. “It’s cold,” she says, but Estelle offers her several choices of coats. “It’s late,” she says, but she can’t pretend she’s tired; everyone knows she stays up later than this reading every night.

“I’ve read a few books on astronomy,” she says in the castle corridor, “and honestly, I don’t see the appeal.”

“You can’t just  _read_  about the stars, silly!” Estelle says. “You have to see them, too.”

Rita grumbles, but doesn’t resist as Estelle pulls her the rest of the way into the courtyard.

Despite the late hour, white light illuminates the gardens, from both the stars and almost-full moon and lanterns placed intermittently around the stone walls. The air is still and almost warm, except when the wind blows.

Estelle leads her to a bench set a little bit apart from the flowerbeds and motions for her to sit down. There’s no use arguing at this point, so Rita obediently leans back to look at the sky.

It’s… vast. That much should be obvious, but it’s actually a little intimidating, to see so many stars all at once, stretching from horizon to horizon. Rita doesn’t know where to start looking.

“You’ve never been stargazing before, have you?” Estelle asks, and before Rita can answer goes on, “You can’t really see the stars from Aspio.”

“Yeah,” Rita says. “I mean, no, you can’t. So I haven’t.” God, what’s wrong with her tongue tonight?

In an effort to prove that she’s not completely clueless, she points at the sky, even though she knows there’s a thousand stars in front of her finger and Estelle can’t see which one she means.

“That’s Brave Vesperia.”

Estelle giggles. “Of course. Everyone knows that.”

Had anyone else said it, Rita would have been quick to bristle and defend herself, but somehow in Estelle’s gentle voice it almost sounds more like praise. It’s not, Rita thinks. But she doesn’t complain.

Estelle raises her own hand to point westward. “Do you see the line of stars over there, with the big one on top? That’s the Shepherd. He’s a mythical figure who commands elemental spirits to fight evil.”

“Pah.” Rita has to resist rolling her eyes. “Why do they always come from fairy tales? There are so many more interesting shapes they could have chosen.”

“You think so?” Estelle continues smiling. “I like the fairy tales. In one version of the Shepherd’s story, he and his closest companion - a water spirit - confess their feelings for each other under the stars. It’s very romantic.”

Rita chokes on her reply.  _Romantic?_  Dammit, it  _is_  romantic, just the two of them out here in the starlight together. Estelle probably hasn’t even realized.

Coughing lightly, Rita says, “Isn’t there one that’s, like… a flower? Scientists use the points of the petals to mark… something…”

“Yes!” Estelle brightens all over again, and points north. “The Sopheria flower. It’s centered around the star Ephinea. Do you see the two tiny stars above it? That’s the top petal, and the next one is…”

Rita has some trouble following, but she doesn’t interrupt. Her eyes rove over the starscape, wondering if Estelle knows the name of every one of those little points of light. She smiles, just a little.

Then a breeze picks up, and though it’s soft and carries the scent of blooming flowers, Rita fidgets in her seat. Suddenly Estelle looks back down.

“Oh, are you cold? I’m sorry, I didn’t give you time to change into something warmer. Here, you can take my-”

“No!” Rita yells, and then says more quietly but rushed, “N-No, you should keep it. I’m okay.”

She keeps her eyes firmly fixed in the other direction as Estelle peers at her, only to jump when a gloved hand covers her own.

“At least move closer, then,” Estelle says, giving her a gentle tug. “It’ll make us both warmer.”

Rita swallows and looks at their hands. She’s not wrong; the (rather large) gap Rita left between herself and Estelle is giving the wind ample room to blow between them. Well, if it will make Estelle more comfortable…

“F-Fine,” Rita says, and moves her hand so she can shift closer. Not too close - there’s still an appropriately sized bubble of personal space for each of them, and -

Estelle immediately destroys it by scooting over the rest of the way so their sides are touching. Rita freezes, swallows, brings her hand back down to rest on her other arm, adamantly doesn’t look up.

Well, she’s not cold anymore. Her face could probably function as a space heater for the whole courtyard.

“Oh, did you see that!?” Estelle says, and without thinking Rita lifts her head. “There was a shooting star!”

“Where?”

“To the east!” The fabric of Estelle’s sleeve brushes against Rita’s as she turns to smile at the shorter girl. “They say that if you make a wish on a shooting star, it’s sure to come true.”

A scoff rises in Rita’s throat, but dies before it gets to her mouth. Estelle’s childlike enthusiasm brightens her features, making her almost glow in the starlight, and Rita stares.

“There’s another one!”

Rita looks up fast enough to see this one - a faint streak of light at the edge of her vision, an impression of movement that’s gone before she can focus on it.

Estelle asks, “Did you make a wish?”

This time Rita smiles, and inches just a tiny bit closer. “Yeah, I did.”


End file.
